Such A Beautiful Mural
by ShadowStalker120
Summary: After Sora defeats Master Xeonort, whom casts himself into darkness yet again, Sora and Ventus go missing. With no hope left, Ethan Chase is the only one who can save them, and those tied to his heart. This is his story.
1. The First Day

**I: The First Day**

So you think you have it bad? Well, if you did, well... you've never experienced my life. Enjoy the tragic tale of my unchangeable fate.

My name is Ethan Chase. I'm fourteen, well, fifteen in three days. I'm about the most un-average guy you could meet. Natural long, spiky, pitch-black hair, about five feet, nine inches tall, and a decently fit body. I guess you could call me good looking, but I really could care less. Anyway, I live in this place called Eden. I only have two friends: Annabeth Solar and Christian Belias. We've been best friends since we were babies.

Annabeth is a little older than me, she's fifteen, but her birthday passed about four days ago, so she's not much older. She has long, straight, bleach-blonde hair. She's a little shorter than me, by about two inches or so. I've kinda had a crush on her for years... Moving on.

Christian has always been more of my rival. I mean, yeah we're best friends, but ever since we were little, we competed. He's always been better at everything compared to me, but I'm determined to win in the future. Christian has yearn, moon colored hair. He's a little taller and stronger than me.

Well now that we're done with introductions, let's start the story. It starts three days before my birthday, at my house.

"So you ready? You're almost fifteen! I mean, yeah you'll still be the youngest, but you'll finally be fifteen!" Annabeth exclaimed a little over-enthusiastically.

"Well, I don't know why me being fifteen will change anything, I'll still be the same old me, but yeah, I'm excited. All kids are excited when their birthday is coming up," I said.

"But you should be happy, maybe something big will happen on your birthday," Christian said.

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you implying that you're doing something for my birthday?"

Christian chuckled, "I'm not implying anything, but if that's what you think..."

"Oh, stop leading him on, you know that all of us are in the dark on what's going to happen to Ethan on his Birthday," Annabeth scolded Christian.

"Well, whatever happens, I can't wait." I will soon regret these words...

The majority of that day we just hung around my house. My house is nothing special, just two little bedrooms, a quaint kitchen, and a living room with a decent sized television that no one watched. It was just me and my mom in the house, so my mom never minded the company. Annabeth, Christian, and I mostly just hung around in the living room, and joked around. We usually just talked, practiced swordplay (a little hobby of ours), and ate Sea-Salt Ice Cream. Now I know what you're thinking, but the ice cream isn't that bad. It's salty, yeah, but it's also sweet. After that day, after everyone went home, that night... The dreams started.

I could see three kids. Two of them about the same age as me, but the third one was younger. There was the girl, she had blue hair and was tall. The first boy, the older one, had dark brown hair, and was very muscular. The second boy, the youngest of the three, was short, with sandy blonde hair. They looked so familiar, but I had never seen them before in my life. The thing about the three of them that was the same, was their shoulders, there was some weird contraption, like an arm guard.

The dream started by showing me these three, lying on the ground, staring at the night sky. Then I heard something that seemed different from the scenery. My view started to zoom onto the young boy's face.

"Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know," a male voice had said.

"You can't turn against the Organization!" a second voice yelled. The voices changed.

"Why! Why do you have the Keyblade!" a new voice had yelled.

"... Shut up!" the scene changed.

I saw the young boy running down some stairs, towards the older boy.

"Terra!" the boy yelled. The older boy (now named Terra) had turned to the younger boy.

"Don't worry, Ventus," Terra said. He turned, and pushed the button on his arm guard. A light flashed, and Terra was in a full body suit of armor. The scene paused itself. The voices came back.

"You turn on them and they'll destroy you!" the voice said.

"No one would miss me..." the voice sounded like... like Ventus', no, it couldn't be, this voice sounded more mature.

"That's not true! I would..." the first voice finished. The voices changed.

"Why? Why do you have the Keyblade?" The voice exclaimed.

"...Shut up!" I could hear a swing, a clash, and someone hit the ground.

"... I see... That's why..." the scene changed once again.

It was a wasteland... full of... blades? There was a cross pathway, with people in familiar armor from before.

"I heard the master was struck down. Is it true?" a girls voice said directed to Terra.

"Yes, Aqua, but only because he tried to harm Ven." Terra explained. They turned to the new approaching figure. The figure was tall, tanned, old, and evil. His image faltered and another figure appeared next to him. He had a suit on too, but his seemed to be made of darkness.

Ventus went towards them, but Terra stopped him and ran to attack the two new figures. The ground below Terra rose and threw him off of his feet. The two enemies rose on their own rising earth. The man moved his hand towards the blades, and the blades on the ground below rose to his will, and rushed towards Terra. They threw him in the air and struck him countless times, thousands of blades, striking his armor.

"Terra!" Aqua yelled and made a barrier around Terra. The barrier didn't last long, for it was destroyed in moments, and the scene changed.

A boy with long, black, spiky hair, he looked just like me, but with yellow eyes. He smiled wickedly and swung a huge, huge blade at Ventus. The scene changed.

I could see Aqua fighting a white-haired Terra with a dark creature behind him.

"Give Terra back his heart!" she yelled. The scene changed for the final time.

I could see Aqua walking down a stone walkway. The area looked consumed by darkness. Suddenly, out of nowhere, four giant monsters appeared and surrounded Aqua. Then, out of nowhere, two blades, Terra's and Ven's, flew with shimmering light and destroyed the monsters.

I could see Aqua say something, but I heard no words. My vision faded, and my dream ended...

.


	2. The Second Day

**II: The Second Day**

I woke with a start.

"Ugh... What was that all about? It all seemed so real, but... was it all a dream?" I said still a little drowzy.

"Hey Ethan!" I heard Annabeth yell from outside. "Get up and get outside!"

After changing pretty quickly, I ran outside with a waffle hanging from my mouth. After getting collected, I could see Annabeth and Christian laughing.

"What's so funny?" I said with a slur because of the waffle still in my mouth.

"You silly!" Annabeth pointed at my face.

"Oh thanks!" we all shared a laugh.

Christian was the first to get serious. "Okay, tommorow is Ethans birthday, so lets get a plan for today, so Ethan will miss being fourten.

"I don't think I'll miss it..." I said with a real serious face.

"Not unless we do something about it!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Okay, first on schedule. We have to see who's the better swordsman. Me? Or Ethan." Christian said.

"Alright... You're on!" I yelled.

I picked up one of our wooden swords, and prepared for battle.

Christian, sword ready, ran towards me, ready to strike. I waited, anticipating his strike. He swung downward with all of his strength. I threw my blade into a blocking position. His sword made contact, I swept my foot across his legs, he tripped, and rolled backwards.

"Not bad..." he said.

"I'm just getting started." I replied.

He charged, I thought he meant to strike my side, instead he slid and swept me off my feet.

"Ow..."

He stood above me, prepared to deal the final blow, and swung. It felt so familiar, yet it never occurred before. I heard a voice before Christian swung.

"Now princess, it is time. Lead me into everlasting darkness!" The voice said.

"What?" I asked myself quietly.

Like on command, Christian swung. Suddenly, I felt a surge of strength rush through my body. An extremely bright light shined and blinded my vision. When the light faded, my body was tired and weak. I was laying on the ground facing the sky. I looked in Christian's direction, to see him passed out on the ground about ten feet from me. His clothes had burn marks on them. I turned to see Annabeth, she was sitting on the ground, gawking in shock or fear, I didn't know, but after she regained herself, she ran to Christian, and dragged him towards me.

"Oh my God," she said. "How did you do that Ethan?"

"Did what?" I asked with a confused look on my face.

"Christian had you on the ground, and out of nowhere, pillars of light circled around you and threw Riku backwards!"

"What did you say?"

"I said Christian had you on the ground and-"

"No after that. Did you say Riku?" I interupted.

"No, I said Christian. Anyway, we need to get Christian home so he can rest. Now."

"O-Okay..."

After bringing Christian home, Me and Annabeth hung out, talking about what happened today during the fight. I wasn't listening though, my mind was concentrated on something else. Who were the people in my dreams? Who is Riku? Why have I been hearing and seeing these weird things? The questions were killing me inside.

"... And that thing with the lights..." Annabeth said.

"Uh-huh..." I said not paying attention.

"Is something wrong Ethan?" she said, worried.

"Huh? Oh, no. Well, yes. I don't know, it's just..." I told her about my strange dream, the voices I heard, what I heard when Christian was about to take me down.

"Lead me into everlasting darkness... Princess? Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me. Mabey you've just been daydreaming too much..." she said.

I didn't relize it, but it was getting late. The sun was setting and night was coming. It would've been beautiful if my mind wasn't pre-occupied.

"Hey, it's getting late, I'll see you tommorow." I said.

"Yeah, you have that bithday to worry about," she said. She grabbed my arm as I was about to leave, "Sora, don't ever change..." the voice didnt sound like Annabeth's.

"What?"

"I said everything will be fine. Don't worry."

"Oh, well night." Then we parted ways. That night, the dreams came again, and made me wish today never ended...


	3. The Dream

**III: The Dream**

My dream started with three kids. A year or two younger than me. There were two boys, and one girl. I saw the three of them, one boy, the youngest I think, had hair just like mine, but it was brown. He wore a white shirt and red shorts. The girl had red hair, with a white shirt and pink skirt. The third boy, the oldest... looked just like Christian. Same hair, same face, same everything.

They sat on a tree, it was odly grown. They were on an island. There was no sound from the scene. Just... peaceful. Then they started talking.

"So if there are other worlds out there," the oldest boy said, "Why did we end up on this one?"

"I dunno..." The young boy said. Then the voices changed.

The young boy was all I could see now, just him, sitting on that odd tree, in a black backround.

"Where's my friends? My home? My island?" The voices changed again

"Huh? Who's there?"

"This world has been connected."

"What?"

"Tied to the darkness..."

"Look, I don't know who you are, but-" The boy was cut off, and the scene changed.

It was the same boy, holding a giant... key? The place he was in looked different from the island he was on. It looked like a small, quiet town. He looked scared. Then a voice called.

"They will come at you out of nowhere, as long as you continue to weild to keyblade."

"So this is the Key?" The scene changed again

.

"Riku!" The boy said. Riku shot a dark fireball at the boy. Wait... weren't they friends? A dog like person blocked the blast.

"Goffy!" The boy said.

"So you betray your king?" Riku asked Goofy.

"Well, no, but I'm not gunna betray Sora either!" Goofy exclaimed. The scene changed once again.

"Kairi!" Sora ran to the girls body. "Come on Kairi! Wake up!"

"She will not awaken, for her heart is missing." Riku said. The scene seemed to fast forward.

Sora was on his knees, like I was with Christian during the fight.

"Now Princess. It is time." Riku raised his blade "Lead me into everlasting darkness!" He swung.

"Sora!" a voice yelled. Sora raise his blade and blocked Riku's attack.

"Forget it! There's no way your taking Kairi's heart!" The scene warped.

Sora ran towards Kairi in a cave.

"Sora..." she flew towards him, and went through him. The scene just kept changing.

There was Riku standing in front of a heart shaped door.

"It is I. Ansem." Riku said. The scene changed again.

A dark skinned man reached towards a large white door.

"Kingdom Hearts! Lead me into everlasting darkness!" The scene changed.

Never forget. Wherever you go, I'll always be with you..." Kairi said. The scene changed.

I could see a boy in a black coat. He pulled out two Keyblades: One of light and One of darkness. He ran towards a skyscraper on a dark street. There was a boy at the top of the skyscraper: Riku. The boy in the cloak threw his blade of darkness at Riku. He jumped and caught the Keyblade.

When they hit the ground, they were surrounded by dark creatures. They killed them, and turned to each other in battle. The cloaked boy knocked Riku to the ground.

"Why? Why do you have the Keyblade!" Riku yelled.

The boy looked at his blade. "Shut up!" and swung. Riku summoned a keyblade and blocked and threw back the hooded boy backward. With his hood removed, I could see his face. He looked like... Ventus. No, it couldn't be... could it?

"I see, that's why." Riku said.

The boy summoned his keyblade and knocked Riku backwards. "How many times do I have to beat you?" The boy said.

Riku chuckled. "Common Sora, I thought you could do better than that."

"Huh?" the boy said. "Get real! Look who's the one winning!"

"I see, so you really are his Nobody." Riku raised. "And to protect my friend, I'll show you the power I've been holding back." He removed his blindfold. A large shadow monster appeared behind Riku. It looked just like the one that the white haired Terra had. He now looked like the man reachiong for the large white door.

The monster grabbed the boy, and squeezed him until he passed out.

"I have accepted it..." The scene changed.

I could see the boy who looked like Ventus surrounded by white creatures.

"Roxas! Use the Keyblade!" a girls voice shouted. The scene changed.

Roxas and this new girl were sitting in a white girl was sitting across from Roxas. She had blonde hair and she wore a white dress. She looked so much like... Annabeth.

"Naminè, I guess I would like to know. What do you know about me, that I don't?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas... You- you were never supposed to exist," the girl replied.

"What? How could you say such a thing? Even if it were true?"

"I'm sorry. I guess some things... are better left unsaid." The scene changed.

It was a large white room with a pod in the middle. Roxas stood right in front of it. The pod opened, and Sora stood on the other side.

"Sora... You're lucky." Roxas said. The scene skipped a little. "I guess my summer vacations... Over." The scene changed, fluently this time.

I could see thirteen faces. One after another. The thirteenth face and final face I saw... was Roxas.

I could see and older, different clothed Sora now. Fighting. Just bits and pieces of fights. All against the faces I saw. Some of them, I didn't see him fight, I saw Riku fight the ones Sora didnt, but Sora killed quite a few of them.

The scene changed. A man with a black cloak and long, white hair. The white haired Terra. He was floating in front of a heart shaped moon. It had been shattered in the middle. The heart was broken.

"Oh, my Kingdom Hearts. Ruined. We shall start anew," He turned and pointed at Sora, Riku, and... a mouse? "Keyblade Masters, go forth and bring me more hearts!" The scene changed.

I saw Riku and Sora sitting on the shore of a beach. It was dark out, almost complete darkness.

"Yea. There's already strong people to protect the light. They protect the light. We'll be the darkness." Sora said.

They sat there for some time. Then a bottle appeared at Riku's feet. He uncapped the top, and read the letter inside.

"Sora" Riku said.

"Huh?"

"I think it's for you..."

I then awoke from my dream...


	4. The Mural

**IV: The Mural**

I woke startled. My face was beading with sweat, I was shivering. I didn't know what was happening to me, but I wished it would stop.

"Ugh, what's happening to me? First the dreams, then hearing voices, and I use some kind of Magic? What's wrong with me lately?"

I turned from my bed and stepped onto the floor. To my suprise, the floor cracked, then my entire room shattered like glass. I was falling, into an eternal black abyss. Then I saw it. A faint light, slowly getting brighter as I fell.

When I got a good glance at the light, I noticed it was a giant mural. It was so beautiful. It was mostly blue. I could see three people on the glass paintings: one was me. The second...was Sora. The third... Ventus. Our three bodies made sort of a triangle withing the circular mural. In the space within the triangle, were a collection of circles with faces in them. There was Terra, Aqua, Riku, Kairi, a spiky, red haired boy who's name was... Axel. I don't know how I knew that, but that was his name. There was Annabeth and Christian there too. There was two left. A girl, With black hair, she looked like Kairi, but she looked like she held a lot more sorrow. 'Her name is Xion.' a voice said in my head. The second was another girl, Naminè. In the center was a large key... No, a Keyblade

Out of nowhere, three objects appeared. A sword, I could feel its power radiating from it. Like it's wielder could win any battle. A shield , just looking at it made me feel like I could prevent harm from all of my loved ones, that with it, I could block even the strongest attack. The final object, a staff. Being near it sent a tingle down my spine, that with it, those pillars of light would be a small breeze of wind compared to what I could dish out.

"You must choose one..." A voice said inside my head.

I didn't know which to choose. I didn't even know why I was choosing, but I knew which one I wanted. I walked towards the shield, the power to protect my friends no matter what? I was sold. I grabbed the shield, and the others disappeared.

A voice called, "Your path has been set. You choose the power of the protector. You will suffer much hardship, and you will do anything to protect your friends, no matter how stupid. You will experience hurt like no other, only to come out of the darkness, stronger, and with your loved ones."

A door appeared out of thin air. I walked towards it.

"In front of you, through that door, lies a different world. More dangerous. But don't be afraid, just keep walking."

A shadow appeared behind me. I spun around. The voice called.

"Don't be afraid, you hold a power within you like no other."

Like on cue, when the voice went quiet, my left arm felt heavy. I looked at my hand. I was holding a Keyblade.

It had a yellow, square-shaped hilt. There was a steel rod type blade. At the end, It branched off into a crown shaped cut. The blade looked just like a normal key.

"What?" I said to myself. The monster swiped at me.

I stepped back to avoid being hit. I swung my blade upward. The beast was thrown into the air. I jumped, and threw the shadow to the ground. Still in midair, I stabbed downward. The beast disintegrated as I forced it to smash into the ground. After killing the creature: "A Shadow" a voice told me, three more appeared. I waited, then they all swung at me, I jumped to the side, and swung once. All three of them dead.

I walked towards the door, and fell to my knees. My head was killing me. Something about this felt so familiar. My head stopped hurting, I rose, preparing for what may lie in through the door. I entered it, and appeared on another mural. The same as the one before, just a different color. There was a door on the opposite side of me. I approached it, and a white creature appeared in front of me. A Dusk. How did I know that? It slithered towards me, floating in midair, I slid under it and got behind the Dusk. I swung downwards, then stabbed. Mid-stab, I thrusted upward, tossing it in midair. I jumped, and front-flipped with my Keyblade. It faded away with the final swing. A chest appeared behind me. I walked up to the chest, and opened it. It's contents were three potions and a Hi-Potion. I could only imagine what I was going to face next. I went into the next room.

Another alter. Only a different color. The voice appeared in my head.

"Remember, the closer you get to the light, the larger your shadow becomes. You will save the ones you do not know. You shall face two foes, beware."

On cue, my shadow grew large, and seemed to strip itself off the ground. It turned into a giant. A huge shadow. A Darkside. Once I thought things couldn't get worse, another figure appeared out of thin air. Another white monster. A Twilight Thorn.


End file.
